It's Pastel Pink, Not Neon
by mandaree1
Summary: Lars and Sadie reunite. The off color squad finds themselves another member.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe!**

 **Title: It's Pastel Pink, Not Neon**

 **Summary: Lars and Sadie reunite. The off color squad finds themselves another member.**

 **...**

After what feels like millennia of harsh rock under his feet, the warm sands of Beach City feel like Nirvana. Lars finds himself laughing, maybe even crying, falling to the ground with a thud he barely feels and a laugh. Steven follows suit, ecstatic. He's crying a lot more than he is.

"I've never seen Lars act like this," Rhodonite fusses, fiddling with her hands. "Is he gonna be okay?"

"He looks fine to us," one of the Rutiles assures her, leading the fusion by a hand on her shoulder. The other head picks up the slack. "This is our home now. Let's explore!"

Fluorite gingerly uncoils herself, blinking up at the sun. Her top set of eyes are resting. "I think... I'd like to take... a walk. In the light. May... I?"

Lars sits up. "Yeah, sure. You can do whatever you want here."

"How..." she pauses, deciding on the best adjective to use to describe freedom, " _lovely_."

"We're about to land!" Padparadscha exclaims gleefully, waving her hands to garner their attention.

"That... we are..." Fluorite gently picked the Sapphire up and cradled her to her chest, crawling off the landing pad and onto the beach, one leg at a time. "Let's go... together."

Lars watched the display warmly. He'd never seen the Gems in daylight before, tucked away in the the dark tunnels and caverns of the Kindergarten, but he thought it suited them. He, on the other hand, stuck out like a pink thumb.

The Rutiles walked over to where Lars was sitting and kicked his shoe. "So, where do we live?"

"Um," Lars said, haltingly, "good question. I hadn't thought that far ahead."

"There's room in the Temple," Steven offered. "I've got a couch and a bed and a TV. You'd just have to get used to living with other Gems."

"What's a TV?" One of the Rutiles asks, just as the other interjects: "What's a bed?"

"I dunno if I could handle a big crowd," Rhodonite admitted, a pearl hand soothingly rubbing a ruby one. "I'm so used to just the off colors and the caves. Better yet, you got any caves around here? I wouldn't mind that."

"The whole point of being here is to get _out_ of the caves, Rhodonite." Rutile waved the notion off with decent humor. "Besides, I'm not sure Lars' humans are supposed to live in caves forever."

"We're not," Lars agreed. "Wait. Wow. My... my folks. Steven, do my-"

"I told them everything," Steven promises, patting his chest. "They're super interested to see your new style."

"Wait!" Padparadscha said suddenly, plopping down on the sands. "We can't live in a cave without Lars!"

Lars reached out to grab her hand. The Sapphire clasped it tightly, running her fingers over the bumps and creases. She had enjoyed doing as much ever since discovering them. "Let's give her a second to catch up."

They all fell silent. Eventually, the Sapphire perked up. "I predict Lars will want to go home to his 'folks'."

"What are 'folks'?" Rhodonite pressed. "Are they dangerous?"

"No, no! They're my _parents._ I've told you what those are, haven't I?"

"Oh. Right." The fusion hesitated, then nodded. "You should've just said that, then."

Lars considered it. He knew it was silly- even if they didn't need to eat or sleep- there was no way they could house so many mouths, especially when one was bigger than the living room. But it didn't feel _right_ to leave them, even overnight. He wasn't used to the concept of being separate anymore; he needed time to re-learn it. Certainly not all at once. But, if not home, where? They could camp on the beach, if Rhodonite didn't feel too exposed, but sand is only fun if you can wash it off later. Caves were an option, but finding one on short notice... well, Lars figured it'd be a bit more complicated than it would've been in the big Kindergarten.

"Lars!"

A shiver ran up his spine.

No way.

 _There's no way she's here._

But there she is, turning the corner of that giant wall of stone that separates the town from the Temple. She's got her casual sweats and black shirt on, and though it's too far away to tell she's probably wearing that lip gloss she likes. Sadie trips into the turn, skidding into a half-stumble, but keeps right on going, as if he's somehow more important than face-planting.

"Sadie!" He cries, getting to his feet with one move that kicks up sand in Padparadscha's direction. It doesn't hit her, thankfully. Lars has gotten much faster during his time off Earth, and finds himself reaching her first. That's fair- she's got stubby little legs.

"What's a Sadie?" One Rutile whispers. The other half shrugs.

"Is she off color too?" Rhodonite asks. "She's pretty small for a _big_ human."

"Humans don't come 'off color'," Steven explained. "We're supposed to be all sorts of shapes and sizes. Just like Gems, really, only we don't kick them out of their homes for being that way. I mean, I guess _mean_ people do, but you know what I'm getting at."

Sadie wraps her thick hands around his waist, lifting Lars off the ground as if he were but a butterfly. Panic flutters in his chest for a second- he's been picked up before, of course, and recently, to get across big divides and such- but not like this. Not for fun, nice things. He feels her squeeze, then release. Lars, following an idea, bent down and scooped her up, staggering a bit under the sudden weight.

"Hup!" Sadie settled in his arms. She's crying. He probably is too. Or maybe being pink is starting to mess with his vision. "Since when could you pick me up?"

Lars doesn't answer. Doesn't know, honestly. Maybe it was a pink thing. There's a lot of things he doesn't need or can do now. He reached out for a quick peck across the lips- an obnoxious little 'mwah!'- before pulling back, pressing their foreheads together. "Missed you, Player Two."

Sadie wrinkles her nose and squints her eyes. "When Steven told me you turned pink, I never expected neon."

He straightened his shoulders and puffed out his chest, pressing more firmly against her belly. "It's _pastel_ , thank you very much, and very manly."

"Very manly, definitely." She agreed, reaching out a thumb to trace his eye. He did the same with her cheek. "Hey, we sort of match."

"A new friend is coming!" Padparadscha told the Rutiles, who made vague and confused agreeing sounds.

Sadie snorted in some snot and pressed their foreheads together. "You ever do this to me again and I'll break your spine, you hear me?"

Lars opens his mouth to reply, but Fluorite beats him to it, lackadaisically wrapping around their side. "Now... now. There's... no need... for violence."

The young woman glanced at the fusion, then Lars, then the fusion again. Before he could start to worry she smiled a little bit, confused but not unwelcoming. "You, uh, you befriended a caterpillar, I see. Cool, that's cool. Not gonna lie, I'm getting some Alice in Wonderland vibes here."

"I... kinda got a squad now. Yeah." He returned the smile. He can't deny the title is fitting. "We're all mad here, or whatever."

"What's Alice in Wonderland?" Rutile asks Rutile, frowning.

"I have no idea. I think humans are designed not to make sense."

"Guys, this is Sadie." Lars swung her closer a bit, almost slipping on the sand. That would be bad. That would be mortifying. "She's, uh, she's very important to me. I've missed her."

"Oh, you can tell _them_ you missed me, but you can't tell _me_ you missed me?" She jokingly poked him in the chest.

He shrugged. "Emotional glitch. What can I say?"

"I... _like_ her..." Fluorite pats Sadie's shoulder comfortably.

"I predict her name will be Sadie." Padparadscha informs them, creeping up on their side. "And that she will have a pretty voice."

Lars nudges her. "She's flirting with you, Sadie. She likes you."

She flushed, burying her face in Lars' shirt. It suddenly occurs to him that he probably smells terrible right now. He might not sweat anymore, but he _did_ sweat in these clothes before. And died in them. There's that too. "Put me down, dummy. So I can get a proper look at you."

That sounds nice. He can do that.

 **Author's Note: A commission for my bud! I'm open for commissions, if you're interested. Just message me!**

 **This was a lot of fun to write!**

 **-Mandaree1**


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